Dual compartment bag

ABSTRACT

A dual compartment bag is disclosed. The bag has a central panel with the two compartments being located on opposing sides of the central panel. The two other panels are positioned flat on opposing sides of the central panel, and fixed to the central panel around the perimeter of the panels. One edge of the perimeter of the central panel and a first of the other panels is not closed and another edge of the perimeter of the central panel and the second of the other panels is not closed. These unclosed edges provide access to the spaces between the central panel and the other panels in a preferred embodiment and these openings are located at opposing ends from each other around the perimeter of the bag. One of the edges at each opening may have a flap extending from the edge. The flap may have an adhesive strip for holding the flap closed and sealing the compartment.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to plastic bags and a method of making plastic bags. More specifically, this invention is a multiple compartment plastic bag having openings to the compartments on each of the opposite ends of the bag. Flaps at the openings provide means for closing the compartments. The method relating to the bag is a means of producing the bag.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Plastic bags are ubiquitous throughout the world due to their inexpensive and convenient nature. Plastic bags are far less expensive to produce than conventional paper bags and generally require less natural resources to produce. In addition to economy, plastic bags are popular with consumers as they can be constructed in a variety of shapes and sizes, and plastic bags may feature a variety of colors or may be clear. Generally speaking, plastic bags can provide a vapor barrier to protect the contents of the bag, and they are lightweight such as to not add significantly to the shipping weight of the contents.

One particular use for plastic bags that has become quite popular is postal shipping bags. In postal shipping bags, both economy and convenience are paramount. In the last twenty years, many innovations have occurred in plastic postal shipping bags including padded bags, multiple compartment postal bags and closure variation. Resealable bags and fluid type “zipper-lock” bag variations have also accounted for many of the innovations.

In addition to the basic utility of the bag article itself, a bag designer must consider end customer ease of use concerns, particularly how quickly a bag can be loaded with contents. In an automated loading operation, quick access to the bag/pouch opening is critical. This is also the case with an assembly line manual loading operation. In the packing of a multiple pouched bag, it is desirable to minimize the number of times the bag must be turned as the contents are loaded in order to generally speed up the loading operation. The present invention is directed to a dual compartment shipping bag that seeks to maximize utility of the pouches while minimizing the effort required to fill the pouches by the end user.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

A search of the prior art reflects the prevalence and usefulness of bags. A large number of patents pertaining to bags and methods of making bags are readily found in the prior art.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,536 by Hill forms bags having multiple resealable compartments from multiple sheets of plastic. At least four sheets are aligned in a stack. The sheets are sealed to each other along a bottom and two sides. A central seal line running from the sealed bottom of the sheets to the open top is formed somewhere between the sealed sides to increase the number of pockets formed between the sheets. Resealable closures are placed between a front set of sheets and a back set of sheets to each side of the central seal line to make each of the several pockets thus formed resealable. The primary embodiment features four layers, a bottom seal, two side seals, and a central seal line, would have two front and two back pockets. All of these pockets would have their resealable openings oriented along the same side.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,278 by Beer claims a bag having two compartments with one of those compartments being smaller than the other and, to some degree, within the larger compartment. The larger compartment is formed from a single sheet divided into several panels. A large central panel is flanked on each side by two creased, smaller panels which in turn are each flanked by panels roughly half the width of the central panel. The edges of the two outer panels are brought together and sealed, and a seal is placed along the bottom. The creased, smaller panels form gusseted sides and the seam between the outer panels ends up down the middle of one of the larger surfaces of the bag. Before the larger compartment is thus formed, an intermediate panel is placed over one of the outer panels and fixed thereto. This intermediate panel is sized in comparison to the outer panel so that when the larger compartment is formed, a smaller compartment is also formed between the intermediate panel and the outer panel to which it is attached. At the top edge of the compartments, a flexible material is attached to seal the opening. When the top is opened, both compartments are accessible, and their contents, although stored separately, may be dispensed together.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,673 by Nakamura is directed to a bag having a front and back pocket in addition to the usual central compartment. The central compartment of the bag is formed from a plastic sheet folded at what is the bottom of the bag, and each edge of the plastic sheet is then sealed to itself, mirrored across the fold. Similarly, a second plastic sheet is folded and this fold is placed at the bottom of the bag. The edges of this plastic sheet are sealed to the edges of the central bag's sheet. This produces a bag having a central compartment and a pocket on the front as well as the back with the openings to the central compartment, front pocket, and back pocket all being oriented toward the same edge of the bag. In one embodiment, the central compartment may actually not be sealed along the bottom, and so may be open to a common bottom volume with the exterior pockets. Alternatively, the central compartment may be sealed along the top to have a totally closed volume. It may have an excess length of plastic sheet on one side, which is folded over the other side, or it may be resealable in a fashion common to the art. Common to all embodiments disclosed is the arrangement of all openings along a common edge of the article.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,641,307 B1 by Knoerzer discloses a plastic shipping bag featuring a secondary pouch which is oriented longitudinally parallel to the primary compartment of the bag. Knoerzer starts the bag by forming a section of plastic sheet into a tube with a substantial overlap of the edges. The overlapping edge internal to the tube is sealed to the sheet to close the tube longitudinally. The outer edge is sealed to the tube body substantially closer to the inner edge than the length of overlap, thus forming a pouch running longitudinally along the main tube. Both ends of the main tube and pouch are sealed along their ends to fully close them. The resulting item has a first compartment for holding a larger volume and an accompanying second compartment with a smaller volume. No specific resealable openings are designated for the package.

Although it does not actually claim a bag item, U.S. Pat. No. 6,440,051 by Lauzon et al. is relevant for bags in that it discloses a manufacturing process for plastic film bags. The bags described are essentially plastic sheet tubes with a partition intermediate of the two ends to create two separate volumes. The partition may be a gusseted end wall to provide a shaped bottom to the volumes, or the partition may simply be a sealed strip separating two portions of the tube. The ends are resealable through various means common to the art such as zipper seals and plastic ties. At least one of the ends of the bag may be gusseted as well. The two separate volumes of the bag co-terminate at the same partition. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,998, which is a divisional of U.S. Pat. No. 6,440,051, claims a similar method and describes the bags produced by the method.

Although the patents listed above and others not listed all claim or disclose multiple compartment plastic bags, they are generally not optimum as the loading of the bags is unnecessarily cumbersome. Furthermore, the pocket arrangement of many of the prior art bags results in a loaded package which is lopsided in weight which is generally undesirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a bag having more than one compartment for storing contents.

It is an additional objective of the present invention to provide a bag with dual compartments each utilizing the full perimeter dimensions of the bag.

It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a bag having multiple compartments with openings to those compartments being at opposite ends of said bag.

It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a bag with multiple compartments that is economical to produce.

It is a still further objective of the present invention to provide a bag with multiple compartments that is capable of being used as a postal shipping bag.

It is also an objective of the present invention to set forth a dual compartment shipping bag which minimizes the effort required to the end user to load contents into the bag compartments.

It is a further objective of the present invention to set forth a dual compartment shipping bag construction that results in a bag that may be easily balanced when loaded for ease in shipping.

The present invention is a multiple compartment plastic bag. In its unfilled state, the bag is a flat polygon, and the perimeters of both compartments generally match the outline of the bag. The compartments are separated by a central panel, and the openings to the compartments are on opposite edges of the polygon. Flaps extend from the edges of the polygon where the openings are located, for sealing the compartments. These flaps may have adhesive surfaces to close the openings. If it is desired to have the openings accessible from one side, the flaps are attached to the same flat side of the bag. When the bag is laid on a surface with the side having the flaps contacting the surface, this arrangement allows both compartments to be accessed and sealed without repositioning the bag.

As discussed above, the method and device of the present invention overcomes the disadvantages inherent in prior art methods and devices. In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

Accordingly, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this invention is based may readily be utilized as a basis for other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such bag constructions in so far as they do not depart from the spirit of the present invention.

Furthermore, the purpose of the foregoing Abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially including the practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection, the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The Abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application nor is it intended to be limiting to the scope of the invention in any way.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Additional utility and features of the invention will become more fully apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the following drawings, which illustrate the primary features of the preferred embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bag showing both ends open with flaps extended.

FIG. 2 shows a cross section of a first embodiment of the present bag invention cut along its length with the flaps extended.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section of a first embodiment of the present bag invention cut along its length with the flaps folded to enclose the compartments.

FIG. 4 shows a cross section of a second embodiment of the present bag invention cut along its length with the flaps extended.

FIG. 5 shows a cross section of a second embodiment of the present bag invention cut along its length with the flaps folded to enclose the compartments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The detailed description below is for a preferred embodiment and is intended to explain the best mode known to the inventor for practicing the current invention. It is to be understood that a variety of other arrangements are also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a multiple compartment bag 10 of the present invention. Multiple compartment bag 10 is rectangular in shape. The bag 10 has a first compartment and opening 20 from one side of which extends a first flap 30. Along the end of first flap 30 runs an adhesive strip 40 for securing first flap 30 to the body of multiple compartment bag 10. On the opposite end of bag 10 is a second opening to a second compartment 50. Extending from second compartment and opening 50 is second flap 60, which also has an adhesive strip 70 running along its end. Both first flap 30 and second flap 60 extend from the same side of bag 10. This allows access to both compartments of bag 10 from the same side at the same time. Generally, both first compartment 20 and second compartment 50 have the dimensions of bag 10. Which is to say that the length and width of both compartments are the same as the length and width of bag 10. Seal lines along the sides 80 of bag 10 fix the panels of the bag together.

When discussing FIG. 2 the same numbers will be used as with FIG. 1. FIG. 2 shows a cross section of bag 10 cut along its length to illustrate a method of producing the preferred embodiment. In FIG. 2 the flaps 30 & 60 are extended as in FIG. 1, and adhesive strips 40 & 70 are also present in FIG. 2 as indicated. First compartment 20 opens to the right in FIG. 2 and second compartment 50 opens to the left.

To form first compartment 20, a first sheet 90 is folded to form two panels. The panel of first sheet 90 that forms the central panel 100 is longer than the outer panel 110 by the length of flap 30. The shorter outer panel 110 contours down to an edge like edge 80 in FIG. 1 where it is sealed to central panel 100. First compartment 20 is therefore bounded by the two sealed edges 80 as viewed best in FIG. 1 and the fold 120 in first sheet 90.

Second compartment 50 is formed by sealing second sheet 130 to central panel 100. Second sheet 130 is the same width as first sheet 90 and essentially the same length as central panel 100. Second sheet 130 is positioned with end 140 aligned with the opening of first compartment 20 and sealed to central panel 100 along end 140. This leaves an extra length extended at the opposite end to form flap 60. Second sheet 130 contours up to an edge like edge 80 in FIG. 1 where it is sealed to central panel 100. Therefore, second compartment 50 is bounded by sealed edge 140 and by the two sealed edges 80 as viewed best in FIG. 1.

As can be seen in FIG. 2 of the preferred embodiment, if bag 10 is placed on a surface with second sheet 130 contacting the surface, access may be had to both compartments. Once the desired contents are placed in compartments 20 & 50, flaps 30 & 60 respectively may be folded up and the compartments sealed. This is illustrated in FIG. 3 with the corresponding numbers.

An alternative embodiment of the invention may be seen in FIG. 4. Where appropriate, the same numbers have been used as before to identify similar features. FIG. 4 shows a cross section of bag 10 cut along its length to illustrate a method of producing an alternative embodiment. In FIG. 4, the flaps 30 & 60 are extended as in FIG. 1, and adhesive strips 40 & 70 are also present in FIG. 5 as indicated. First compartment 20 opens to the right in FIG. 5, and second compartment 50 opens to the left.

To form first compartment 20 and second compartment 50, a first sheet 90 is folded to form three panels. A first panel 110 and a second panel 100 are of the same length, while a third panel 130 is longer than the first two. All of the panels are of the same width because first sheet 90 has parallel edges. These edges are sealed together as indicated by edges 80 in FIG. 1.

Referring again to FIG. 5, first compartment 20 is enclosed by first panel 100 and second panel 110 with first fold 120 being the bottom. Second compartment 50 is enclosed by second panel 100 and third panel 130 with second fold 150 being the bottom. The extra length of third panel 130 extends to the left to form second flap 60.

To form first flap 30, second sheet 160 is sealed to outside surface of third panel 130 along seal line 140. An alternative embodiment to this would be to seal second sheet 160 to second panel 100 before the edges of the panels are sealed together. Both of these embodiments would position first flap 30 and second flap 60 on the same side of their respective compartment. This would allow access to both compartments, first compartment 20 and second compartment 50, when bag 10 is placed on a surface with third panel 130 contacting that surface.

Another embodiment not shown in any figures, would utilize a single sheet folded in three panels. In this embodiment, the first and third panels would be of essentially equal lengths with the second, central, panel being somewhat shorter than the other two. Folding the first and third panel onto opposite sides of the second, central, panel and sealing along the edges would define two compartments having their separate openings on opposite ends of the second panel. The extra lengths of the first and third panel would extend beyond the ends of the second panel to form flaps to seal the compartments. However, in this embodiment the flaps would be on opposite sides of the bag.

It should be noted from this discussion that there are numerous embodiments subsumed in the present invention and the scope of this invention should not be limited by the discussion of the preferred embodiments above. 

1. A bag comprising: a) a first panel; b) a second panel sealed to said first panel on a first side of said first panel, around a portion of the perimeter of the panels, leaving a portion of said first and second panels not sealed to each other; c) a third panel sealed to said first panel on a second side of said first panel, around a portion of the perimeter of the panels, leaving a portion of said first and third panels not sealed to each other; d) wherein the unsealed portion between panels one and two does not occur at the same area of the perimeter of the bag as compared to the unsealed portion between panels one and three.
 2. The bag of claim 1 wherein said panels are rectangular in shape.
 3. The bag of claim 2 wherein the unsealed edge of panel 1 includes a portion of material extending therefrom to form a flap when folded over.
 4. The bag of claim 2 wherein the unsealed edge of panel 2 includes a portion of material extending therefrom to form a flap when folded over.
 5. The bag of claim 2 wherein the unsealed edge of panel 3 includes a portion of material extending therefrom to form a flap when folded over.
 6. The bag of claim 3 wherein said flap includes an adhesive strip for use in sealing said flap upon closure.
 7. The bag of claim 4 wherein said flap includes an adhesive strip for use in sealing said flap upon closure.
 8. The bag of claim 5 wherein said flap includes an adhesive strip for use in sealing said flap upon closure.
 9. A method of producing a multiple compartment bag comprising the steps of: a) placing a first rectangular panel upon a second rectangular panel and sealing the two panels together around three edges leaving a pouch opening for the fourth edge; b) placing a third rectangular panel upon said second rectangular panel and sealing around a portion of the perimeter of the panels, leaving a portion of said second and third panels not sealed to each other; d) wherein the unsealed portion between panels one and two does not occur at the same area of the perimeter of the bag as compared to the unsealed portion between panels one and three.
 10. A method of producing a multiple compartment bag, comprising; a) folding a first sheet of material to form a first panel and a second panel, said second panel being longer than said first panel by the width of a first flap; b) placing a second sheet of material on said second panel so that said second sheet extends beyond the fold creating said first panel and said second panel by the width of a second flap; c) sealing the edges of said first panel and said second panel together, along the common edge of said first and second panel with the exception of the area wherein said first flap is formed. d) sealing the edges of said second sheet that contact said second panel to said second panel with the exception of the area wherein said second flap is formed.
 11. A method of producing a multiple compartment bag comprising; a) taking a first sheet of material to form a first panel and a second panel, said second panel being longer than said first panel by the width of a first flap; b) placing a second sheet of material on said second panel so that said second sheet extends beyond the fold creating said first panel and said second panel by the width of a second flap; c) sealing of said first panel and said second panel together, with the exception of the area adjacent to said first flap. d) sealing the edges of said second sheet that contact said second panel with the exception of the area adjacent to said second flap.
 12. The bag of claim 10 wherein said flap includes an adhesive strip for use in sealing said flap upon closure.
 13. The bag of claim 11 wherein said flap includes an adhesive strip for use in sealing said flap upon closure. 